Hand-sled



W. E. SHERWUOD.

HAND SLED.

APPLlcAlou HLED FEB.2B,19\B.

1,330, Pmnted Feb.10,1920.

. To all 'whom t mag/concern UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM nsnnnwoon VoironiwisrOra, Nn'wvonn; AssIeN'OR To WATSON rRontrcTs CORPORATION, OF OANASTOTA, New YORK, A CORPORATION or `NRW YORK'.

. i EAND-SLD.

- Beit known'that I', `WILLIAM Er SHER- woon, a citizen of theA United v States of Y America, and resident of Canast'ota, in the county of Madison, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hand-Sleds, of which thev following; taken iny connection with the accompanying'drawings, is a full, clear, and4 eX- act= description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in hand sleds, in which the front' ends of the runners are free to yield laterally-for steering purposes, and refers more' particularly to the means for' deiecting the yielding-ends in eitherv direction;

In this class of sleds,.therunnersareusuf ally niadeof spring steel or equivalentl metal andl lare attached to the-platform or` body by bracesL or' knees arranged in pairs and" attached tothe nori'nallystraight portions of thev runners some distance apart? fromv front to rear.

I am awz'lt'rethatv it -isf not broadly 'new Ato springY or'deflectthe portions of the` runners Y.

' at the' front of the^ front bracesl laterally by means:V ofal foot lever for steering'pur-VV poses, but" one-O-fthe objects of my presentinvention is to provide simple pedal-operated means fori deflectingthev greater por tions of the lengths ofthe runnerseither direction with lesslia'fbility of interference' with the operation of the feet or hands upon the' pedalsI with the parts o-f vthe deii'ec'ting y kthe runner'sin one direction Vor' the other as meansithan has-heretofore been practised,

other'words,V one 'of thespecicobjects' r is'toenable the-front s`etof braces orknees to shift position-with the deflection of the' front ends ofthe runnersbythe pedal'lever so' that thefdeflection of the runners' may' bei carried as far back as the rear set of braces if desiredwith'o'ut in any way weakening the! function ofthe frontE braces.

Another specific Object isV to.` produce this lateral deflection with ay minimum? number offpitrtsf, including? a pairofi links; pivotally4 attached? to oppositef sides of the? platform or' body" and divergign ferwardy closev to the' central pivotal point! of" the pedtl lever v'vhereE they* are; pivot'allyl attached to said Y connection-'s' betV7 een thelink'srandVj lever Yclose specification ofvretters Patent.

Patented' Feb. 10, 1920.

Application filedFebruary 28, 1918. Serial No. 219,631.

to the central pivot of said lever isI to increase the leverage, wherebythe deflection of the front ends of the runners may be effected with a minimum power applied to either end of the pedal lever.

Other Objects and uses' relatingtospe'ciic parts of the runner-deflecting mechanism will" be brought out' in the following description. f Y Y In'the drawings;

Figure l isa top plan of al` sled embody- Ving the features of my invention.-

Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan partly brokenv away and" partly in section, of the frontend of the same sled, showing lby dotted lines' the position assumed by the pedal lever and links in deflecting the front ends of the runners in one direct1on,.fin' this instance, tothe right, the pedal lever'being also' shown by dotted lines to disclose the underlying cross bar which connects the" eX- treme front endsof the runners.

F igs'. 3 and are transverse' vertical sectional views' taken, respectively, von lines .8;3 and 4 4', Fig.' l.

1 AsYV illustrated, thisk sled comprisesa;v pair I of normally parallel runners-1;7V a platform or'r body-'29, frontV and 'rear' pairs 'of braces -'-3"-"a'nd -3-',' af cr`os`sf'bar=+4i`- connecting the uptuine'd frontends of the -runnersf 1 -"and suitable means',v as the pedal lever 5; and a" pair of links ;6- f

coperating with thecross* bar and platform, for deflecting' the front' ends of may be desired. Y

Each ofthe runners 1-` preferablyf consists' of aj steell or equivalent" metalbar of inverted T shape in cross section' sov thatith'e wider a't' portions may rest upon the surface'ov'er which' the sled is moved, the *fronti ends 'of theV runnersbeing curved" upwardly inthe usual' manner so that-the corresponding extremities' lie'V in approximately the horizontal plane ofV the platform or slightly below the-same.

rioo Y The" platform Y or' body .-24 is relatively y Y shorter-"than the runners so to liejbetween the ends thereof, butY some' dista-nce'r'ear- Wardly from the frontfupturned ends? and comprises? a. pair of' OppositeV longitudiiiallyYA extending? side barsL or hand rails 7'- and secured near theirl ends to the upper sides of the parallel cross bars 9, thus constituting the platform or body proper.

The braces or knees -78 and -3- are similar in form and serve to connect opposite ends of both crossvbars -9- to the unl derlying portions of the runners -1-, 'each brace preferably consisting f a single piece of sheet 1A etal folded or bent into inverted V-shape andl having its apex somewhat shorter transversely than the oppositeleg or arm portions and engaged with the under sideA of the adjacent cross bar to properly support the platform and establish a strong connection between the platform and runners. y; .m .l fr

fThe opposite armsl of each brace or knee are preferably concave-convex in cross section with theirconcave sides facing each other so as to further stifi'en thefbrace and Y permit ythe `use of comparatively light sheet y metal therefor.

posite ,longitudinal edges ofv the platform, 'as shown more clearly vin Fig. 4, said braces.

servingto hold the adjacentportions ofthe runnersagainst excessive lateral spring and assure the restoration of the kfront endsof Y the runners' to their normal ystrai ht positions when released after being de ected by'` the deflecting mechanism, thus causing the runners to normally assume positions .par-

allel with the center line ofthe platform for straightaway sledding.

The front cross bar connecting the front upturned, ends of therunners -l-f is preferably made of metal V:of sufficient strength to hold said runner ends inspaced relation, 4the connections between said bar .Y and runners'preferablyV consisting of pivotaljboltss-lQ- to permit v'slight turning movementy of the runners and cross bar relatively v-to each other, as would be necessary swhen the front ends of the runners are dej flected from a straight course.

The pedal lever -wrests upon the up-Y per face of the cross bar -4` and extendsY `laterallyequal distances lfrom the center of said cross bar some distance between the endsthereof, said lever being pivoted at itsV .longitudinal center to the corresponding` 160l center of thecross bar -4- by means of :J a bolt -13which allowsV the lever to rock horizontally `in opposite directions.

For convenience of operation, the rear l edges o fopposite ends .of the pedal .lever support the feet of the operator, although it is evident that the 4endsof the pedal lever maybe similarly operated by hand if desired.

The rear ends of the links -6- are Vpivotally connected to the outer bolts -11- which connect 'the front braces -'-3-'' tothe adjacent cross bar A9- and side rails --7-, the 'ends of thelower side of the front cross bar -9- being recessed at 1 to .receive the adjacent yends of the 'links-'96- andallow them to rockl freely between the ends of said cross bar and'upper faces of the adjacent braces y, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 4A. v

v,These bolts lll- .whiclr connect the outer vedges of the platform to the front braces Bf-f alsoserve asV pivots about which said braces may rock horizontally so as to permit the deflection of the major-*portions of the runners in front of therear braces -3--, and for this purpose the inner portionsofthe apexes of the frontpbraces 3- are providedjV with forwardlyv and rearwardly elongated slots 16- concentric with the outer pivotal bolts ,-ll-e for receiving the inner brace bolts, as -`-11f-.

The front ends of the links 6 are'pivotally connectedby bolts or. rivets i6-'- to Vthe under sideV of the pedal lever -5- at relatively short, but equal distances fromthe center pivotal bolt '13-- and order n that Athese, links ma operate freely Vwithout interference with t e underlyingY cross ybar i -4-, the adjacent Vportions of saidcross bar 'arerdepressed to form recesses --17-` vof sufficient depth to assure the desired clearance for the links. y

l-It is now evident that ifl the pedalVV lever -5 is rocked from its normallposition,

shown in Fig.` 1,.to` an angular position, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the major portions of the runners infront of the rear braces -3- willbe deflected to the right, thereby causing a corresponding horizontal rocking movement of the front braces -'-3-,

which enables the deflection of the runners tov extend with gradually reducing degrees to they rear braces and `accelerates the divergence ofthe sled from a direct course to a greater extent than 'would be possible if thedeflection of the runners only'extended -to the front braces.A

Furthermore, by connecting the pedal lever -5- to the forwardly divergingends of the links '-`6- close to the central; pivot I3- in the manner described produces a powerful leverage and enablesV the front ends oftherunners to be deflected with a relf ativelylowdegree 'of power which lis obviously of great advantage, when it is consideredthat these sleds arefrequentlyfoperated by small children.

What' I .claim is:

.1. In a hand sledof the character dey scribed, the combination of la pair of runners, the front ends of which are free to yield laterally, front and rear sets of braces secured to said runners, a platform supported by said braces, a cross bar connecting the front upturned ends of the runners and supported Wholly thereby independentlyv of the platform, a pedal lever centrally pivoted to the cross bar, and links having their front ends pivotally connected to the pedal lever at relatively short distances from and at opposite sides of the central pivot and their rear ends pivotally connected to the front set of braces.

2. In a hand sled of the character described, the combination of a pair of runners, the front ends of which are free to yield laterally for steering purposes, a cross bar connecting the upturned front ends of the'runners to cause them to move laterally in unison, said cross-bar being supported wholly by the front ends of the runners independently of the platform, a pedal lever centrally pivoted to the cross bar, braces secured to the runners, a platform mounted Abeing pivoted to swing horizontally, a cross bar connecting the upturned front ends of the runners independentlyV of the platform, a pedal lever centrally pivoted to the cross bar, and a pair of links having their front ends connected to the lever at opposite sides of its pivotV and their rear ends pivotally connected to the pivots of the front braces.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of February, 1918.

WILLIAM E. SII-ERWOOD.

Witnesses:

II. E. CHASE,

ALICE M. CANNON. 

